Towards the end of the summer term, the whole of St Nicolas’ School participated in the Taplow Heritage Week. The week was organised by Miv Wayland Smith and gave the children (and staff) an opportunity to learn about the history of our local area.
The week was an overwhelming success with activities such as:
- A guided tour of the inside of Taplow Court and a walk through the grounds
- A guided walk around the village of Taplow and a talk by the former headteacher of St Nicolas’ School, Helen Grellier, about life in the old school
- Brass-rubbing in St Nicolas’ Church and learning about its history
- A visit to a World War 11 bunker and a talk by someone who lived in the area during the War
- Researching on the internet to learn more about the history of Taplow and producing a group poster showing their findings.
Many parents gave up their time to assist the members of staff during these activities and many of the parents found the tours and talk extremely educational - even if they had been living in the village for a number of years!
During Heritage week we also had a number of special assemblies that included:
- Nigel Smales giving a fascinating presentation on the history of Taplow
- Talks from three local residents who have excelled in particular sporting disciplines
- A talk from the author, and writer of Dr Who, Tony Read
- A presentation from Tim Browning, a special effects artist at Pinewood studios.
The children thoroughly enjoyed the week and produced two murals that were displayed in the village hall at the Heritage event, one of pictures showing what they had learnt over the course of the week and the other of the brass rubbings that they had done in the church. The posters of the internet findings were also displayed. All the children, regardless of age, gained an understanding that our local area is one that has a long and important history. Hopefully this will become a regular event as it is very important for the children to understand the heritage of this area.
Many thanks to all the parents, residents and members of the community who helped organise the events – the children and staff of St Nicolas’ really appreciated it!
Richard Daniels
